WWI vehicles. Click on pictures to view.

British Mark I male tank. This is the Airfix 1/76 model which I made years ago. This was a first-release Airfix kit and the flexible track material was eating into the plastic of the model. I had to perform a restoration on the model and place aluminum foil between the tracks and the rest of the model. The right 2 pictures show a modified version which corrects the model to a true Mark I. I couldn't take the inaccuracies any longer. The base came from the Matchbox Comet, but seemed to fit this model better. Approximate year of construction: 1967. Restoration: 1997.

British Mark V female tank. This is a conversion from the Airfix model with scratch built female sponsons. Note the log on the top rails used to un-bog the tank. This again was an early Airfix tank kit that had "track melt" and needed restoration. In this early model I tried to get an impression of bolt heads by using a hot pin to melt the plastic card. Approximate year of construction: 1968. Restoration: 1997.

Another view of the Mark V female. Note the semaphore signaling arm on top. This was a pre-radio era! Carrier pigeons were also used to send messages. Also note the red and white ID stripes. The Germans captured and used tanks so IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) was as important then as it is today.

German A7V tank. This design did not have the trench-crossing ability of the British tanks and was built in much smaller numbers. This 1/76 model is from a vacuum-formed "Raretanks" kit made in the late 1960's. I remember having a Raretanks Somua also which I never did build, but to this day I still feel the need to build a Somua... Heller make one in 1/76. Approximate year of construction: 1972.

Another view of the A7V. This is a camoflaged tank lacking markings. The Germans were really playing catch-up in World War One and used more captured British tanks in action than their own models.

Renault FT17, takes its name from the year of introduction - 1917. It was thought that small tanks used en masse might succeed where the heavy tanks - conceived as mobile fire power rather that infantry support - had failed. When actually employed in large numbers they proved quite effective, but often they were employed piecemeal and did not make much impression. This mistake in armour usage was to be repeated time and time again throughout history. (Matchbox 1/76) Approximate year of construction: 1997.

Now for a real change of pace with the Fokker triplane made famous by the Red Baron himself. Since it is World War One vintage I will put it here! If I remember correctly this is a 1/72 Revell model. This is a model I built when I was still a kid, later painted and also repaired many times! Approximate year of construction: 1962! I believe that this is the oldest model on the site and the reason that this is not a tank is that my very early tanks were relegated to wargaming once my modeling skills had improved.